Aerial conduit and cable-guard.



E. M. VAN NOSTRAN.

AERIAL 0011111111111) CABLE 1111111111.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10. 1910.

Patented Apr. 11, 1911.

M W W N I WITNESSES:

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illFiD A EDGAR M. VAN NOSTRAN, OF WABASH, INDIANA.

AERIAL CONDUIT AND CABLE-GUARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1911.

Application filed January 10, 1910. Serial No. 587,181.

T 0 aZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, EDGAR M. VAN Nos- TRAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Wabash, in the county of \Vabash and State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in AerialConduits and Cable-Guards, of which the following is a specification.

In the aerial extension of telephone and telegraph wires, where a numberof them are carried together in the form of an in sulating cable, it hasbeen customary to support the weight of such cable on what is known as amessenger wire or supporting cable of higher tensile strength, theelectri cal cable being connected to the supporting messenger cable byhanger clips placed at intervals along the line and suspending theelectrical cable from the messenger cable. This messenger cable isusually made of steel wire of sufiicienttensile strength not only tosupport the electrical cable, but also to sustain a lineman who by meansof a sling and a rolling trolley wheel is enabled to ride the wire forinspection and repairs. lVhen such electrical cable passes through thebranches of trees or across other wires, or obstruction. at railroad orstreet crossings, they are liable to become chafed and worn fromextraneous contact so as to allow the escape or short circuiting of theelectric currents. My invention is designed to prevent this, by a novelform of aerial conduit and cable guard, which, while it does not touchthe cable at all, extends along the length of the same as far as desiredand completely incloses it and protects it without risk of shortcircuits, and which may be rapidly put up or taken down in any desiredlengths and at the same time excluding rain and snow from the cable andforming a more perfect insulation as well as a mechanical protectionagainst abrasion. My aerial conduit and cable guard is also soconstructed that, while it is sustained upon the same messenger wire asthe electric cable, it does not in any way interfere with the riding ofthe wire by the lineman.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a side view of a horizontal extension of anelectric cable and messenger wire, with my aerial conduit and cableguard applied to the same. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of the sameat one of the joints between the sections. Fig. 3 is a transversesection taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction ofpleasure of the workman.

upper middle portion straddles the messcnger wire.

G represents my aerial conduit and cable guard. This, as shown. is madeof sheet metal, but it may be made of any other de sired material. It isconstructed in sections of uniform length of two or three feet whoseends are telescoped over each other like stove pipe sections to givecontinuity to the guard and permit of indefinite extension at the Thistelescopic connection also makes the conduit stiff and integral and alsocloses it tightly at the joints against the entry of snow or rain. Thesections are all made alike and are each bent from a single piece ofmetal to form a 'main protecting tube 00 and a smaller supporting tube 2and an intermediate fiat and parallel neck portion 3 The main protectingtube 00, which forms the guard for the cable and incloses the same, istwo or more inches in diameter, according to the size of the cable C,and is sui'liciently larger than the cable to leave a considerable airspace 8 all around between the cable and the guard which gives aninsulating body of dry air and also removes the guard surface far enoughaway from the cable to prevent any chafing object from cutting throughthe guard and touching the cable. The supporting tube a is made to fitsnugly to the messenger cable and will be usually about of an inch indiameter, according to the size of the messenger cable. The flat neckportion between the two tubes is about of an inch vertically and the twosides y g of the same are clamped together at intervals by bolts andnuts N.

In forming the sections G the larger tubular guard portion 00 ispreferably made longer than the neck portion y and suspending tube z, soas to allow the larger at the joints, as best seen in Fig. 2, while theportions 3 and e do not telescope. This, while stifily connecting thetube sections as aunit, allows the hanger H to drop down between theadjacent ends of the parts y and z of the sections so that the thicknessof the metal of the hanger will project only a very little distanceabove the level of the upper tube and will not, theretore, oppose anyserious obstacle to the trolley wheel of the linemans sling in ridingthe messenger wire. I urthermore, this allows the loop L of the hanger Hto descend directly to the interior of the guard tube a. to connect withthe cable (l, which it does at a point inside the telescoping ends ofthe guard.

The messenger wire is to be sustained on poles in the usual way, or itmay, when my aerial conduit and guard is applied, be carried on treeswithout danger of destroying the insulation and short circuiting thewires.

I am aware that it is not new to suspend the cable from the messengerwire by hangers oi: the form shown, and I neither claim suchconstruction. nor do I limit my invention to it. as other forms ofhangers may be used. I am also aware that. an electric cable has beenprovided with an external armor sheath secured in direct contact withthe cable and I make no claim to this. I desire, however, toparticularly point out, as important features of my invention, the

fact that, when the cable is slung from the J messenger wire and myoffsetting tubular guard made of the proportions shown is applied asdescribed, the guard is held concentric with the cable, but offsettingtherefrom with a non-conducting air space a all around and it exercisesalso a mechanically protec-tire, influence as against all chafingand,,mechanical injury which would result in short circuits or loss ofcurrent. Furthermore, the telescopic connection of the SQCtlOIIS glYQSunity and integral strength its any individual swaying move- 1 isection, and permits also easy tactical extension or the guard throughany length of line.

(,JIII making use of my invention It would have .it-understood thatvarious changes in details nay be made without departing from my,invention as set forth in the claims.

I. claimc' 1.: :An aerial conduit and cable guard, comprising arelatively large tubular portion :tor;;inclosing the cable, a relativelysmall tubular portion for inclosing the messenger wire, and flat andintermediate neck por -tio-ns made integral with the tubular pertions,and bolts for clamping said neck portions together.

2. An aerial conduit and cable guard, consisting of a relatively largetubular portion for inclosing the cable, arelatively small tubularportion for inclosing the messenger wire, the larger tubular portionbeing of greater length than the small tubular portion to allow thetelescoping of the larger tubular portions.

An aerial conduit and cable guard, con sisting of a relatively largetubular portion for inclosing the cable, a relatively small tubularportion for inclosing the messenger wire, the larger tubular portionbeing of greater length than the small tubular portion to allow thetelescoping of the larger tubular portions, in combination with anelectric cable of smaller size than the large tubular portions, amessenger wire arranged in the small tubular portion, and hangerssuspended upon the messenger wire and supporting the cable in the centerof the large tubular portion and out of contact with the same.

The combination with a messenger wire. an electric cable. and hangerstor supporting the cable on the messenger wire, of a continuousinclosing tubular guard otlsetting from contact with the cable with anair space between.

5. The combination with a me senger wire, an electric cable, and hangerstor supporting the cable on the messenger wire, of a continuousinclosing tubular guard ottsetting from contact with the cable with anair space between, said tubular guard being made in sections connectedby telescopic joints.

(3. The combination with a messenger wir an electric cable, and hangersfor supporting the cable on the messenger wire, of a continuousinclosing tubular guard oilsetting from contact with the cable with anair space between, said tubular guard having the portion which inclosesthe cable of rater length than the portion that incloscs the messengerwire and telescoping together, and the hanger supported on the messengerwire being connected with and supporting the cable at a point inside theouter ends of the tubular guard sect-ions.

In testimony whereot I atlix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDGAR M. VAN NOSTRAN. lvitnesses Cims. S. ROSE, JNo. B. Lrroiinar.

Copies of tl is patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, 7 H y Washington, I). C.

